Headmaster's voice: Why have teachers and tutors?

Q We have been informed that a new “tutor system” is being introduced at our children’s school, with the traditional form teacher role being downgraded. Is this just another of these trendy changes that head teachers seem to like, or is there some value in it?

Sandra Worthington, Plymouth

A I rather like a tutor system because it provides a continuity that the form teacher template lacks. A child would typically choose (better: it keeps staff on their toes) or be assigned a personal tutor, and then keep that tutor for a few years, unless things went pear-shaped, in which case a good school would make a change – something that is more difficult with a form teacher.

Usually, a tutor is an extra resource for a child – someone who keeps a close eye not only on all aspects of his or her academic progress; but also on extra-curricular activities and, very importantly, general wellbeing. The tutor should be at the hub of the child’s school career.

Form teachers, who usually have a more administrative role, are not replaced by tutors, but work with them to provide a finely calibrated support mechanism. Ask your children’s head for more information on how the system will operate at the school.

Q When we were at school mobile phones had not been invented, nor indeed had anything technological much beyond the crystal radio set. We were shocked though to find that so little is done at our grandson’s prep school to control the use of these awful things. Please tell us we are not hopelessly out of touch!

Albert and Pamela Avery, Bournemouth

A You may be a little bit out of touch, but you share the concern of every school and its teachers. The exponential advance of communication technology, embraced so enthusiastically by the young, is a constant challenge to schools and their ability to keep abreast.

It is not at all easy to do so because children can now interact silently and secretly, and no school can say hand on heart that it is fully on top of the abuses that can occur. The worst aspect of this is the ease with which inappropriate material can be written, photographed and filmed on mobile phones, and then posted on the internet, all too often humiliating and bullying other pupils and staff. There are even sites that encourage children to gossip about one another and teachers publicly. Grim stuff.

A prep school, though, should be able to enforce some sort of reasonable control; and I would suggest your grandson’s parents go in to see the head and find out what controls are actually in place.

Q My 10-year-old son, who has attended prep school since he was four, continues to claim he dislikes school: “Torture,” he says. His attitude about most aspects of his day is negative, and mostly the bare minimum will do for him when it comes to homework.

Will he grow out of this phase? What can/should we do? He is an imaginative, intelligent, articulate, wilful, quirky only child, with lots of friends. His parents may have some of these characteristics!

Mr G Norton, Surrey

A This seems to me an extreme version of a fairly common syndrome, not least in young boys. From what you say, it seems he has all the ammo, but is not yet pulling the trigger, so to speak. The encouraging news is that such children nearly always come good in time; but it is certainly deeply frustrating in the meantime for parents and teachers.

I am sure you have had many conversations with his school about strategies to get him engaged, but my advice is to avoid confrontation over the work, as difficult as that may be for you. Subtlety might be the answer in your approach at home: suggest reading the same book and then discussing it; maths games in the car; carefully chosen presents for his birthday and so on.

Don’t feel that bribery is bad: devise a star system with a visible chart, and special rewards for stages reached. Do either of you have some interest he might share? His school ought to be able to find something that enthuses him: a hobby of some sort, a musical instrument, a sport.

But please do not nag him over this – that is nearly always counterproductive – positive, cheerful encouragement is, I suspect, what he needs.

Send your education questions to Peter via weekend@telegraph.co.uk

An editorial glitch led to Naming of Parts by Henry Reed being misattributed to Wilfred Owen in Peter’s column last week. Our apologies